Next month, the European Union is updating its privacy laws to require greater transparency for how people's information is used online. WhatsApp is updating our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy where the law known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is taking effect.

We are not asking for new rights to collect personal information with this update. Our goal is simply to explain how we use and protect the limited information we have about you. There are a few things we want to highlight:

WhatsApp in Europe: WhatsApp has established an entity within the European Union to provide your services there and to meet the new high standards of transparency for how we protect the privacy of our users.

Data sharing: We are not currently sharing account information to improve your product and ads experience on Facebook. As we have said in the past, we want to work closer with other Facebook companies in the future and we will keep you updated as we develop our plans.

Staying safe on WhatsApp: When we receive reports of a bad actor sending unwanted messages - like SPAM or abusive content - on either WhatsApp or Facebook, we share information and can take action including blocking them across both services. You can learn more about how to stay safe on WhatsApp by reviewing these safety tips.

WhatsApp cares deeply about your privacy and security. Every message and call is secured by end-to-end encryption so that no one, not even WhatsApp, can read or listen to your conversations. In the coming weeks, you will be able to download and see the limited data that we collect. This feature will be rolling out to all users around the world on the newest version of the app. To learn more, click here.